Excerpts
One hundred-and-forty-eight families served by BGC Olds and Area will see an increase to their monthly child care fees, while 38 families will see a decrease as a result of a new provincial fee scale that took effect April 1.
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“The most significant impact for our organization is the expected increase in the number of families who cannot afford their child care fees,” she wrote.
"As a result, we anticipate a rise in bad debt and are developing an internal subsidy program to offer discounted fees to the families most in need.
“Currently, we rely on a significant portion of our daycare revenue to support free after-school programming in Bowden, at Holy Trinity (Catholic) School, and through our youth centre.
“If a growing number of families are unable to pay their fees, it may reduce our capacity to sustain these important programs unless we can secure alternate funding sources.”
One way to make up the anticipated shortfall in revenue could be to charge additional fees for meals, programming, or experiences. However, Gole said BGC Olds and Area “will not be adding any supplementary fees.”
Gole said under the new system, the only families that will see a decrease in their child care fees are those with household incomes of more than $180,000. They were ineligible for subsidies under the previous system.
Under the previous system, families with household incomes less than $180,000 were eligible for a provincial subsidy and affordability grants.
“As a result, many of these families were paying either very low or even no fee. Under the new flat-rate model, these same families will now be required to pay significantly more,” Gole wrote.
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